Advertising and sales of many products require, in part, that the product provide a unique and sensational visual presentation in order to attract attention of the consumer. Additionally, many products, such as sports trading cards and comic magazines, retain value due to their uniqueness. Consequently, many attempts have been made to make such products attractive to the consuming public.
The techniques and processes for manufacturing signs and displays which have unique visual effects are many and varied. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,106,126 for an invention entitled "Process Printed Image with Reflective Coating" incorporates a metallic reflective layer with masked portions behind the design on a transparent substrate to achieve a unique visual effect. As another example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,933,218 for an invention entitled "Sign with Transparent Substrate" incorporates an extraordinarily thick ridge of ink along the border of a design, under a transparent substrate, to achieve another particularly unique visual effect.
The present invention recognizes that a particularly unique visual effect is achieved with a sign or display, when light is not only reflected from the sign or display, but when light is also able to come through the sign or display from the back of the sign or display. Light from the back of the display is, of course, the familiar "back lighting" effect. The present invention also recognizes that the back lighting effect can be achieved for products which do not rely on artificial lighting. Indeed, many products such as sports trading cards have heretofore relied on reflective light for the presentation of their design images. Further, the present invention recognizes that by properly selecting and manufacturing the various layered components which comprise a product, such as a sports trading card, the back light effect can be enhanced with the suggestion of iridescence.
In light of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a display/sign which incorporates a back light effect without the use of an artificial light source. Another object of the present invention is to provide a display/sign which has an iridescent effect in its visual presentation. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a display/sign which is relative easy to manufacture, and comparatively cost effective.